AVB Doubters

[Mr-T]

I have to admit I was in the skeptical camp when AVB was appointed, I was worried he'd be another Juande Ramos and stated that he's a proven premiership flop.

But you can't really argue with a win at old trafford can you? Although its still early days in the season I'm happy to eat my words now, just maybe Levy has appointed the right man :-D

Is anyone still doubtful of AVB after yesterday?

 

[Mr Pink]

Never was, I was desperate for us to get him in, he was my undoubted first choice and have always maintained he needs time.

 

[punky]

I have to admit I was in the skeptical camp when AVB was appointed, I was worried he'd be another Juande Ramos and stated that he's a proven premiership flop.

But you can't really argue with a win at old trafford can you? Although its still early days in the season I'm happy to eat my words now, just maybe Levy has appointed the right man :-D

Is anyone still doubtful of AVB after yesterday?

Far too early to say that.

In the 2nd half alone they hit the bar twice and had 2 penalties which could have easily been given. They dominated the entire half and we were barely hanging on by our fingertips. It could have easily just been yet another capitulation and collapse to add to the list.

Squad selections and substituions just seem downright bizarre at times. We've started the season at a trot but hopefully now we'll see if we can gallop. He needs one full season of highs and lows before we can make any judgement on him.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

My concerns were twofold: 1) I don't like upheaval when it isn't necessary, so I was opposed to taking an avoidable risk in pursuit of the oft-mythical 'next level'; 2) deploying the 'high defensive line' in the Premiership seemed like a recipe for dominating matches and losing 3-2. I never had a problem with his spell at Chelsea - that was plainly outside his control and he was not given the support - nor the time - to do what he wanted.

After a few weeks, my concerns still seem valid, but I can see that the manager is talented, understands football and possesses some tactical flexibility, which makes the first concern smaller. I'm not yet convinced that he has the full loyalty of his key players, but yesterday's result can only help with that aspect of management.

As for the 'high line', it's been plain since our second match that it is a tactic that gets used in some match situations against some teams and not in other situations against other teams. Eventually, it will be caught out and will cost us points, but the same is true of defending too deep and we got away with a half-hour of that yesterday. As long as it is used flexibly and appropriately - and not, for instance, against Stoke - then it's just part of a tactical armoury, not the key to the team's style.

Let's see where we are in December. So far, it's working out well in terms of results, less well in terms of footballing quality: we've won two league matches in a row, despite failing to control midfield for long periods of both matches, entirely as a result our ability to counter-attack at pace and then defend a narrow lead.

 

[Mr Pink]

Far too early to say that.

In the 2nd half alone they hit the bar twice and had 2 penalties which could have easily been given. They dominated the entire half and we were barely hanging on by our fingertips. It could have easily just been yet another capitulation and collapse to add to the list.

Squad selections and substituions just seem downright bizarre at times. We've started the season at a trot but hopefully now we'll see if we can gallop. He needs one full season of highs and lows before we can make any judgement on him.

I think that's harsh. Yes they dominated the second half and we dropped deeper and deeper but our first half performance was excellent. We've never had a 40 minute period like that before against United at OT, not in recent times anyway. Also Carrick was just trying to flick the ball on when it came off the bar, that was never intentional - had it got in it would of been a fluky goal.

I've just watched a re run of the full game and bar the RVP chance which I wouldn't describe as gilt edged, and Evra's header (which was more so) they didn't actually create that much given the amount of the ball they had in the second half.

We dug in and won ugly in the second half, after playing with a lot of fluidity, composure and effective possession in the first half.
There was always going to be a real surge of United pressure in the second half. I would of loved us to have a bit more control in the second half, showing that composure when in possession but they did squeeze us and penned us back.

Nevertheless you need a bit of luck to win up in that hell hole. Great win at the end of the day and this should really strengthen the belief amongst the group ten fold.

His subs last night were spot on as well.

 

[davros]

It's still very early to judge the guy, but my biggest worry was that we wouldn't give him time to prove himself. Yesterday must have bought him some with most critics. We'll have some bad days this season, but as players get used to AVB's style and system and as he gets more experience, we should get stronger. We had a great first half, and in the second half we didn't capitulate against perhaps the most potent attacking force in the league. Lots of work to do, but hopefully now they can do it without so much of the negative press and pathetic boos.

 

[Legacy]

Undefeated in seven games in all competitions at the moment. Haven't lost since the opening day.

Obviously drawing at home to West Brom and Norwich were disappointing results, Norwich especially as West Brom have started the season well. But if you look at those two games as 4 points lost, the Man Utd game is a massive 3 points that we never usually have.

I think the next month is going to be really telling for us. We've got home games against Villa and Chelsea, surrounded by two European away games and a trip to Southampton. We'll see how well Villas Boas rotates his squad to keep us competitive in both competitions, but fresh enough to avoid fatigue. We also need to see an improvement in our home performances, as Villa should be a certain 3 points and Chelsea will be huge, with all the media fuss over our coach. A strong performance and result there, coupled with the Man Utd victory, should be enough to get the gutter press off his back for a while.

All in all, I was happy but wary of his arrival, but I'm getting more and more confident with each passing week.

If for no other reason than he seems to be turning Defoe into a decent footballer.

 

[Dan Ashcroft]

I doubted AVB. I doubted he'd be able to match Bill Nich's achievements.

Now I'm not sure.

 

[DogsOfWar]

I agreed with Levy for taking the gamble even though it was just as likely to fail (from my outsiders view) as succeed.

I know it sounds harsh to grumble at 4th but we had to keep up the continuous improvement of the last decade and Harry had pretty much flat lined. We could have trod water for a while but why not take a chance on the possibility of hiring the 'next Mourinho'?

It's still early days, but as Davros has pointed out, at least AVB will now be given the time to prove himself one way or the other now.

 

[spurs]

Wasn't an AVB doubter but didn't want change for the sake of it.

Still very early days.

The positives for me are:
1) I like him as a person - he has passion and intelligence
2) I was worried he would feel the media pressure (he always looked so on edge at Chavs) and the media would destroy him. So far he has handled the media well and they are warming to him slowly.
3) As a fan, I can understand most of his decisions and changes
4) The team is still gelling and getting used to his tactics
5) The players all seem very happy.
6) We are much more of a threat from set pieces and seem more solid when defending them
7) That win yesterday will be huge in terms of momentum

I still think finishing 4th again will be a fantastic achievement - but at the moment, I'm optimistic that we we will be there or thereabouts.

Exciting times

 

[TheGreenLily]

Not me, I just want him to leave my face like a plasterers radio so I can wallow in his manhood.

 

[parklane1]

I was never anti AVB and i am glad that he is proving the media and quite a few Spurs fans wrong.

 

[beats1]

Too early to say if he will be a success or not, but to give a balanced Ramos also gave us one of the best memories, the 5-1 vistory was spectacular likewise the 2-1

 

[Harry_Snatch]

Always thought he was the guy for the job and haven't changed my mind. He is lucky to have inherited the squad that he has and Harry deserves some credit but if anything I though he had a weakened squad at the season start but now I think he has a more flexible squad. Bearing in mind our best Keeper isn't established yet and one of the best strikers at the club in years isn't fully fit yet, he is doing a great job.

Way too early to judge for some but already from what we have seen he seems to have winner written all over him.

 

[senseispab]

I'm still doubtful but supportive

Superb result yesterday. Whatever happens, AVB deserves a full season, and as long as we finish top 10, a second season too.

 

[marion52]

Still too early to be sure, some are gettng carried away with the marvellous result at OT.
It's only 6 games let's see where we are at Christmas, but at least it looks like we're on the right track

 

[ShelfSide18]

For me it was a case of can AVB communicate his obvious wealth of knowledge about the game to the players. It's one thing having the theory, the badges, the 70 page dossiers - it's another thing communicating it well and putting it into practice. It's the hardest thing in coaching, if you can't get your ideas across, there's no point having the ideas in the first place.

I think some people are sceptical of coaches like AVB because they think they are over complicating a simple game, but I disagree. All the dossiers and stats and so on are just there to provide a wealth of information in order to gain small margins across the game, it may be couched in maybe a more 'intellectual' sounding language sometimes, but in reality it's often conveying very simple principles.

Redknapp wasn't quite the tactical numpty people tried to portray him as at all, but he was very much a man who got his group of players, made them believe in themselves and gave them simple instructions and let them express themselves. This has a lot to say for itself, it took us to the Bernabeu and the San Siro, but I think it also led to us turning up at Wembley and looking utterly lost losing 5-1 to Chelsea for example. He didn't strike me as a guy who was as meticulous as others in his preparation, his distrust of the analytical side of the game meant we were sometimes 'driving without a dashboard'. Intuitively, he understood the game, he sometimes made excellent decisions because he just felt the game of football, I just think the very best don't leave what HR did to chance. Y'know, as a young coach myself It seems a little odd saying this, but coaches rarely make the difference that they think they probably should be - HR was right when he said the most important thing is how good your players are, but the best coaches just get those extra bits out of their players and the team collective that others can't. For me, the best in the EPL at the moment in bringing those small margins together are Fergie, Wenger and Moyes (and very much like Rodgers and Lambert too) - I sincerely hope that AVB is the guy who do this with us.

I like AVBs meticulous nature, and the signs so far seem to suggest that he's getting his message across - there's no guarantee he's going to succeed but ultimatelly I support Levy's decision, it was a risk and very brave, but after yesterdays result I think we can be looking at the future with optimism.

 

[StartingPrice]

I don't doubt AVB...I've seen him on the TV and that's real

 

[luptic]

so wanted him before he joined the rent boys, felt he wasnt supported at the rent boys, wanted him when he was sacked as redknapp was looking like he was away, and so glad he appointed him as our new manager. The only negative thing about avb i have is the treatment of dawson.

But like previous seasons, us not having the likes of dempsey, dembele, adebayor, etc bedded in before the season has started as cost us 7pts, and our chairman has let our manager down, and probably that hasnt meant he wasnt able to get the better of the media.

 

[punky]

Far too early to say that.

In the 2nd half alone they hit the bar twice and had 2 penalties which could have easily been given. They dominated the entire half and we were barely hanging on by our fingertips. It could have easily just been yet another capitulation and collapse to add to the list.

Squad selections and substituions just seem downright bizarre at times. We've started the season at a trot but hopefully now we'll see if we can gallop. He needs one full season of highs and lows before we can make any judgement on him.

So presumably Brewster, Welshie and PT think it's absolutely fine to judge AVB on his first 6 games?

Stone the crows...